During 2004 Darren Lynn Bousman pitched an idea of his baby script, called The Desperate to various studios. He was unable to sign on to any deals, due to the fact that his screenplay was considered to violent and Saw-ish. Luckily, due to the major success of the opening day of Saw. Lions Gate pictures was instantly pushing for a sequel. Catching wind of the overly violent screenplay written by Bousman, James Wan and Leigh Whannell picked up the script. After a little talk, Bousman agreed on rewriting The Desperate into Saw II. Other the next few weeks, Whannell helped him adapt the screenplay to fit into the Saw universe, and Bousman was signed to make his directorial debut on Saw II.
Saw II ended up becoming a major hit, in not only its theatrical run, but also within DVD sells. Lions Gate began to understand the cash cow that they were setting on, and signed Bousman on to direct Saw III, which would be released on October 27, 2006. Whannell was signed to write, and James Wan was to be a producer.
Even before Saw III was out in theaters, Lions Gate had put the green light on three more sequels, and a seventh depending on the profit of the series at that time. However, even after Saw III became a big hit. Bousman stated that he would never direct another Saw movie. The main reason was for the sake of his next project Repo! The Genetic Opera.
Nevertheless, on February 19, 2007, Leigh Whannell announced that Bousman had signed on to direct Saw IV. Bousman explained that before shooting could begin of Repo! The Genetic Opera, there was a gap of time during which the songs were being pre-recorded, and he would be able to direct Saw IV during that period.
Darren Lynn Bousman in my opinion is an amazing directer. Not just because I'm a big Saw fan. I'm actually really interested in his style of film making. His work with transitions within the last two Saw movies where a work of art. He has a way of bring out the best in actors.
I can't wait to see Repo! The Genetic Opera. So, in the mean time. I'm looking forward to Saw V! :)
While in film school, he met James Wan, who would eventually go on to direct the horror film Saw
(co-written by Wan and Whannell) in 2004. After making a short film to
showcase the intensity of the script, the film was made and became a
low-budget sleeper hit in late 2004. Whannell played Adam in the film, one of the main characters. The popularity of Saw led to a sequel, Saw II, which was directed
and co-written by Darren Lynn Bousman, and on which Whannell co-wrote and revised Bousman's original script, titled The Desperate. Whannell also served as an executive producer.
Around the same time, Whannell got back with James Wan and they wrote a film called Dead Silence,
which Wan directed. It was slated for a 2006 release, but small
problems with the title pushed the
release date back to March 2007,
where it was released as Dead Silence. In 2006, Whannell and Wan, wrote the story for Saw III,
with Whannell writing the screenplay for the third time. It was again
directed by Bousman and was released on the 27 October 2006. Whannell
has a featured cameo, reprising his role as Adam. Saw III was a
huge financial success and raked in $33,610,391 on its opening weekend,
making around $129,927,001 worldwide (after 38 days in cinemas) and is
currently the most successful Saw film to date.
Whannell's writing partner, Wan, was chosen to direct the film Death Sentence, the first feature film with their participation that they did not write themselves. Whannell has a small role as "Spink" in Death Sentence.
Leigh reckons that he may have inherited his love of story telling from
his mother, and his fondness of film making from his father, who worked
behind the
camera in the television industry. Whannell is currently "taking off my writing hat" as he stars alongside Nathan Phillips in a new film, due to release in 2008, called Dying Breed.
A low budget Australian horror film about a small group which set out
to the Tasmanian wilderness to prove that Thylacine (Tasmanian tiger)
still lives but whilst there become prey as they wander into the domain
of the living descendants of the Pieman, a group of cannibals who
retain their ancestors taste for human flesh.
It was confirmed in an interview with Whannell that before and during the production of Saw he had visited hospital several times regarding his own health. "I was going through a
bit of a tough time health wise and suffering anxiety," says Whannell. "The
anxiety manifested itself in physical ways. I was suffering headaches
everyday for nearly a year. It was serious stuff and really started
affecting my life." He also stated that while in hospital he was given inspiration for the character of Jigsaw/John to have cancer. "It
was weird to be 25 and sitting in a neurological ward and I'm
surrounded by people who actually had brain tumours. It was very scary
and it was my first proper look at mortality. I really wanted to get my
health back and it really hammered how important good health is. If
you've got that, you've got everything."
Leigh Whannell is not exactly the best actor in the world. However, I find his performances within the Saw films to be very enjoyable. I think his best skill is that of writing. I think every movies I've seen where he has written the script is very well put together. That doesn't mean they are all good. I'm just saying they where well put together.
So, as I was saying. I don't know if I agree with every actor can be replaced or not when sequels are involved. I certainly think that comic book characters can be replaced, because they are timeless, but what about other movies. I was just talking about how I think that Tobin Bell as an iconic character in a series of iconic films. I also think that is important that Shawnee Smith to not be replaced as Amanda in the Saw series. She is the embodiment of her character, and does a good job at it.
A native of South Carolina, Shawnee's achievements began
early in her career when she appeared in the movie Annie (1982). As a young actress she was awarded the Youth in Film Award for Best Actress in a television film for her role in the CBS drama Crime of Innocence (1985) (TV) . She was honored with the Dramalogue Critics Award
for her performance in the theatrical production To Gillian on her 37th
Birthday. In the same year, she received rave reviews for her
co-starring role
with Richard Dreyfuss at the Huntington Hartford Theatre in The Hands of its Enemy. Shawnee then starred in The Blob (1988) for Columbia Pictures, in the
hit comedy Summer School (1987) for Paramount Pictures and in Who's Harry Crumb? (1989), also for Columbia Pictures. Those roles would be followed by appearances in such highly-acclaimed films as Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Armageddon (1998/I), Desperate Hours (1990) and Breakfast of Champions (1999).
Satisfied
with pushing the extremes in her critically-acclaimed punk/metal band
Fydolla Ho, Shawnee is working on her first solo record with Queens of
the Stone Age producer Chris Goss.
I am hoping they really bring he back for the Saw VI. The fact that she has been in every movie, but not really on set for IV and V is making me sad. I think, if you are going to end the series, you need her on the set filming new and amazing scenes. So, we shall see.
I'm not sure if I hold the opinion that any actor can be replaced. There is certainly a big question about that for franchise movies. In recent months, we have been thinking about whether are friends at
Warner Brothers are going to be replacing Heath Ledger as the Joker. (We do not yet know. However, I bet allot of us don't think they should. Simply because, his performance was nothing short of amazing, and the reason the film did so well.) Or the recent announcements on Toby Maguire getting $50 million dollars for Spider-Man 4 & 5, and Johnny Depp getting $56 million of Pirates 4. I think studios are more afraid of losing their actors then the public. If they lose them, then they can take a serious hit within the profits. However, I think that it is very possible for a actor to be replaced in certain situations, I just wouldn't prefer it.
I going to say this for the critics before I start writing. Tobin Bell is by no means the best actor in the world. However, he embodies a character that is iconic of this time in films. Many people know of his
character. For all that it is worth. I think that he brings everything that is necessary to his roles (which the Jigsaw character is allot.) You can tell he works for his success with his characters, and that is respectful. Plus, he has never ruined a movie for me. I think he has added allot to a bad film. (Bogyman 2). In my opinion, he is an actor who can't and will not be replaced for his role as JIGSAW.
Tobin Bell was born, on August 7, 1942, in Queen, New York, and raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts with his mother, Eileen Bell. A British Born actress. He study in New York with actress Ellen Burstyn. Bell often plays the role of a villain and
serial killer; he was cast
as Unabomber Theodore John Kaczynski in the made-for-TV movie
Unabomber: The True Story, and most recently has played the role of the
nefarious "Jigsaw," a serial killer who wants others to appreciate the
value of life via twisted "games" in the 2004 film Saw and its sequels,
Saw II, Saw II, Saw IV, and Saw V. Aside from appearing in low budget films, and made-for-TV movies, Bell has guest starred in
popular series such as Seinfeld, La Femme Nikita, The X-Files, Stargate
SG-1, Alias, The Sopranos, and 24.
Check out these interview. I swear, Tobin Bell is one of those people I just want to meet, and listen to him tell stories of his life all day. I love listening to him talk. LOL.
So, I was thinking of how excited I am for SAW V coming out on the 24th. In fact, I already have tickets for the SAW MARATHON 08' in my local Cinemark theaters. I am so freaking excited about all of this. I can't even stand it. (Sadly, I will miss miss a little of the first movie do to school, but I don't want to skip the day. School is way to important. Plus, I shouldn't have in tests or anything the following day, due to finals being the next week.) So, I'm totally ready to sit through all 5 movies in one day with the movie theater experience intact for all five movies. So, I'm so excited, I have decided to write a little about all the people who make these movies possible, and their history in the film industry. I will also be writing reviews on all five movies, after I see them in theaters. In any case, it should be amazingly fun.
There is always a lot of talk about how Hollywood shouldn't make sequels. How it is all about the money, and how greedy they are. I think that is fine. Is that wrong? The really problem is that you don't want them to ruin the original by making a sequel. That somehow the original will seem less amazing when the terrible sequel is out. While that isn't true. I do think, if the sequel is bad, it is a ruining of what could have been just one more step towards amazing.
This rule is a clear reminder of movies such as Star Wars Episode 1, Rocky V, Highlander 2, M.I.B. 2, The Godfather 3 (debatable), ect... There are certain people where you just can't allow them to ruin there original work to such great levels. (Lets call this George Lucas Syndrome) Sometimes it is good to have someone new step in and help out.
I guess what I'm try to get to is, I completely trust the people who make the Saw movies. Each movie a little more deep and philosophical then the one before it. Saw III and Saw IV also showed me that, the
makers were not going to sit around and just get more violent with less plot. The story got so complex that many people who watched it for the gore couldn't understand it. So, I can't wait for Saw V to come out. And I also trust that they will make the most of it, and it will not be anything less then amazing.
So, I was looking over some of my old stuff, and I came upon a few old posts. These posts were going to be a way of me to talk about some of my favorite people in the film industry. Seeing as I have only put in stars from the movie Underworld. I figure why not keep it going when I star it up again?
Wiseman grew up reading comics and dreaming of becoming a filmmaker and
had a particular interest in genre films, which would clearly inform
his career choices later on. After graduating from Fremont's American
High School, Wiseman studied film at De Anza
College in Cupertino, CA, making two short films there — the second
of which helped him land his first professional talent. Len Wiseman's career began through his work in the art department on the blockbuster hits like Independence Day (1996), Men
in Black (1997), and Godzilla (1998). His design talents soon got him behind the camera directing commercials
for PlayStation, Time Warner, Oracle, Intel, and Activision, and
quickly lead to work in music videos.
In 2003 he got his first big directing role by directing his own script Underworld. The film became a
smash hit through the creature feature crowd, and easily grossed 100 million worldwide. Wiseman followed up Underworld with the sequel three years later. Which ultimately did better then the first. After earning some much needed recognition for his work. He was attached to direct the forth Die Hard,
staring Bruce Willis. The movie was very well received and earned over a 100 million in the domestic box office. Wiseman is set to produce the third installment of his Underworld franchise, and also direct the film adaption to the popular video game Gears of War.
He married British actress Kate Beckinsale, star of the Underworld films, on May 9, 2004. Wiseman met Beckinsale when she and her longtime boyfriend Micheal Sheen, with whom she has a daughter, starred in Underworld.
During filming, Beckinsale began a relationship with Wiseman while
Wiseman was still directing her and
Sheen together. At his wedding to
Beckinsale, it was reported that Wiseman gave his new stepdaughter her
own "wedding" ring. There appear to be no hard feelings between Wiseman
and Sheen, who will star in the upcoming Wiseman-produced Underworld prequel.
Seeing as Wiseman has been given the role to direct a few pretty hyped films. I wouldn't be afraid of saying that the people from Hollywood know he is talented. Hopefully, he will continue to direct films for years come, and continue giving them the care and dedication he has been.
Kate Beckinsale was born on 26 July 1973 in England, and has resided in London for most of her life. Her mother is Judy Loe,
who has appeared in a number of British dramas and sitcoms and
continues to work as an actress, predominantly in British television
productions. Her father was Richard Beckinsale,
born in Nottingham, England. He starred in a number of popular British
television comedies during the 1970s, most notably the series "Rising Damp" (1974), "Porridge" (1974) and "The Lovers" (1970). He passed away tragically early in 1979 at the age of 31.
Kate
attended the private school Godolphin and Latymer School in London for
her grade and primary school education. In her teens she twice won the
British bookseller W.H. Smith Young Writers' competition - once for
three short stories and once for three poems. After a tumultuous
adolescence (a bout of anorexia - cured - and a smoking habit which
continues to this day), she gradually took up the profession of acting.
Her major acting debut came in a TV film about World War II called One Against the Wind
(1991) (TV), filmed in Luxembourg during the summer of 1991. It first
aired on American television that December. Kate began attending Oxford
University's New College in the fall of 1991, majoring in French and
Russian literature. She had already decided that she wanted to act, but
to broaden her horizons she chose university over drama school. While
in her first year at Oxford, Kate received her big break in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Kate worked in three other films while attending Oxford,
beginning with a part in the medieval historical drama Prince of Jutland
(1994), cast as Ethel. The film was shot during the spring of 1993 on
location in Denmark, and she filmed her supporting part during New
College's Easter break. Later in the summer of that year she played the
lead in the contemporary mystery drama Uncovered
(1994). Before she went back to school, her third year at university
was spent at Oxford's study-abroad program in Paris, France, immersing
herself in the French language, Parisian culture and French cigarettes.
A
year away from the academic community and living on her own in the
French capital caused her to re-evaluate the direction of her life. She
faced a choice: continue with school or concentrate on her flourishing
acting career. After much thought, she chose the acting career. In the
spring of 1994 Kate left Oxford, after finishing three years of study.
Kate appeared in the BBC/Thames Television
satire Cold Comfort Farm
(1995) (TV), filmed in London and East Sussex during late summer 1994
and which opened to spectacular reviews in the United States, grossing
over $5 million during its American run. It was re-released to U.K.
theaters in the spring of 1997.
Acting on the stage consumed the first part of 1995; she toured in England with the Thelma Holts Theatre Company production of Anton Chekhov's
"The Seagull". After turning down several mediocre scripts "and going
nearly berserk with boredom", she waited seven months before another
interesting role was offered to her. Her big movie of 1995 was the
romance/horror movie Haunted (1995), starring opposite Aidan Quinn and John Gielgud,
and filmed in West Sussex. In this film she wanted to play "an object
of desire", unlike her past performances where her characters were much
less the siren and more the worldly innocent.
Kate's first film project
of 1996 was the British ITV production of Jane Austen's novel Emma (1996) (TV). Her last film of 1996 was the comedy Shooting Fish
(1997), filmed at Shepperton Studios in London during early fall. She
played the part of Georgie, an altruistic con artist. She had a
daughter, Lily, in 1999 with actor Michael Sheen.
The first movie I saw Kate Beckinsale in the Pearl Harbor (2001). Now I'm not going
to say this movie was bad, and I'm not going to say who or what ruined it (Ben Affleck).What I well say is that it didn't come together, but it did introduce me to two good actors Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett. But I didn't really think to much on the actors at the time just on how bad the movie was. I didn't see Kate Beckinsale in again until the opening weekend of Underworld (2003) directed by Len Wiseman. Kate plays the figment of ever little boys imagination. A woman that kills
everything in her path and looks damn good doing it. Needless to say I fell in was unpressed by the movie. Yet even after I had seen Underworld I didn't think anything of Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy or even Micheal Sheen as being respectable actors.
No it wasn't until they announced Underworld Evolution (GREAT MOVIE) until I went back and watch her over movies like Serendipity, The Aviator, Shooting Fish and even Brokedown Palace. These movie are amoung my favorites in my entire DVD collection. Yet my DVD collection only consists of about 34 DVDs (I know very sad, but it grows and grows). The movie Click was another of her movies that came together very well. And her newest movie Vacancy was surprisingly very well done. I was thinking that it would be a little bad, because Luke Wilson is a comedic actor, and doesn't usually do thriller
movies. Kate Beckinsale doesn't have a genre, but she usually doesn't do thrillers either. Yet the movie came out very well, maybe because of my low expectations.
Kate Beckinsale has yet to choose a genre in her carrier, and I say thank god. If a good actor doesn't get typecast then they are free to do what they want. All that means is that good actors should show there talent in ever genre and not just one place. Kate Beckinsale is doing this. So enjoy this video of the Underworld bloopers.
Bill Nighy was born on December 12th 1949 in Caterham, Surrey. His
father managed a garage in Croydon and his mother worked as a
psychiatric nurse. At school he gained 'O'-levels in English Language
and English Literature and enjoyed reading, particularly Ernest Hemingway.
On leaving school he wanted to become a journalist but didn't have the
required qualifications. He eventually went on to work as a messenger
boy for the Field magazine. He stayed in Paris for a while because he
wanted to write "the great novel", but he only managed to write the
title. When he ran out of money, the British
consul shipped him home. A
girlfriend suggested that he should become an actor, so he trained at
Guildford School of Dance and Drama. Since then he has found continuous
work as an actor, on stage, screen and radio. His stage work includes
National Theatre roles in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1993, David Hare's
Skylight and Blue Orange. Bill's partner is actress
Diana
Quick
(he asked her to marry him but she said: "don't ask me again", he calls
her his
wife because anything else would be too difficult). They have a
daughter, Mary Nighy,
who is studying at university and contemplating an acting career. She
has already began to appear on TV dramas and radio programmes.
I most admit I never heard of Bill Nighy was until I saw the first Underworld. I also most say I was as shocked with his name as anyone else in America may be. LOL, but anyway back to his role in Underworld. He plays Viktor a ancient vampire leader opposite Kate Beckinsale (Selene). He joins late in the movie as a father figure to all the vampires especially Selene. I most also admit that I didn't think to much about his role within that movie, until I bought it on DVD. I was focused on Kate Beckinsale's performance and tight leather suit, LOL.
I think the next movie I viewed with Bill Nighy in it was Shaun of the Dead. As a British parody of the American horror movie Dawn of the Dead. Nighy plays Philip the
unliked step-father of Shaun (Simon Pegg). Unlike many British comedies that deliver dry intellectual humor, Shaun of the Dead gives us a mix of British and American humor. This makes it very enjoyable to watch. Yet besides the excellent humor of the movie, the most interesting thing was the acting. You don't usually see good acting in comedy movies, at least not in the U.S. But In British movies it is always pretty good. This was the first funny role I saw Bill Nighy in and comedic role, and he pulled it off
his small role perfectly. I've also seen Nighy in a 2003 British Comedy called Love Actually. He plays an old pop star trying to win back his former glory through a Christmas single. As in Shaun of the Dead Nighy brings his comedic A game as he quickly still the show in this all star cast.
Perhaps one of Bill Nighy's most recognizable roles is his one in the Pirates of the Caribbean series where he plays Davy Jones. Now the sad thing is that because of his
role in the movie, nobody nows who is playing Davy Jones. At least a majority of my
friends. Nighy however brings glorious life to Davy Jones. The most impressive thing about that is that his character is fully digital. It takes a great actor
to take on a fully digital role and pull it off with flying colors. And I guess the visual effects team deserves most of the credit on making Davy Jone's character move so smoothly with the rest of the film.
Bill Nighy has played many enjoyable roles and hopefully many more to come. And if you haven't seen any off these films in this post then I suggest you see them for an enjoyable movie experience. Also enjoy Bill Night's music video from the movie Love Actually.
During 2004 Darren Lynn Bousman pitched an idea of his baby script, called The Desperate to various studios. He was unable to sign on to any deals, due to the fact that his screenplay was considered to violent and Saw-ish. Luckily, due to the major success of the opening day of Saw. Lions Gate pictures was instantly pushing for a sequel. Catching wind of the overly violent screenplay written by Bousman, James Wan and Leigh Whannell picked up the script. After a little talk, Bousman agreed on rewriting The Desperate into Saw II. Other the next few weeks, Whannell helped him adapt the screenplay to fit into the Saw universe, and Bousman was signed to make his directorial debut on Saw II.
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